Powerkites

I’m considering learning how to kiteboard/kitesurf this spring/summer. But, I want to make sure when I purchase the equipment that I get equipment that is reputable. Obviously, being a first-timer, I’d need to find a brand that is well-known for quality and price.

What brands would you recommend I look up and research? Any particular websites that have good deals and inventory? Anything else I should know going into it that you might’ve learned when you first started?

Hi Mark,

It’s good to see that you’re doing your research long before you decide to purchase. There are a lot of high quality brands out there that will serve you well. If you’re looking for a good quality and price, there’s Best Kiteboarding.

If saving money is important, consider Best. They make good kites, and they come at very good prices. You can usually get good package deals from them too. The only thing I don’t like about their kites is that there are a lot of tuning options. This means that you have a lot of ways to attach the lines, which can take some time to get tuned in so the kite flies properly. For beginners, it’s more important to just get out and ride, rather than trying to tune a kite.

If you want to spend a little more on a kite setup, I reccommend 100% Naish Kiteboarding. Naish kites are very very high quality, very easy to set up, and they really rock. The Cult is their beginners kite, and it’s very user friendly. The first time I set up a Naish kite, I was absolutely floored - it took much much less time than the Best kites I have used, and I was out on the water within 10 minutes. They also have HUGE depower through the trim line - more than almost every other brand I have seen. Of all the kites I have flown, Naish is my top favorite. Love em!

Other good brands are: Ozone, Cabrinha, F-One, Slingshot…there are a lot of good ones.

The one brand I would be wary of is North. I have seen a lot of people struggle to get North kites set up properly (the lines can be a huge pain). One time I watched an instructor setting up his North Rebel, and it took him 1.5 hours. It was rediculous. Before buying one of these kites, I’d try one out to see if you like it.

Also, it’s a really good idea not to buy your gear until you take your lessons. This way you can use your instructors gear during lessons and save yours the wear and tear. You will also be able to try different kites, boards, and all the other rigging. You’ll get a better sense of what size of kite you’ll need, what size of board you like, and which brand you like (or don’t like). Some schools even give you a good price break on gear.

It’s also a good idea to get an understanding of different kinds of kiteboarding kites, and how they differ from each other. This page has a good explanation, as well as pro’s and cons for each style - http://www.kiteboardingevolution.com/kiteboarding-kite.html

As for online shops, I have had fantastic luck with http://www.kite-line.com . They are a shop out of Oregon, and they have gone through insane lengths to get me gear. I was very happy with their selection and service. They shipped me some gear to Mexico, and helped me work through some customs issues. It was fantastic.

The only other thing that I found really helped when I was first learning was to fly a trainer kite before hand. I flew the kite and mimicked the things I would practice during lessons (plus learned the theory), and it really really helped. If you want to see some exercises you can practice this page has a bunch http://www.kiteboardingevolution.com/trainer-kites.html